Product Description

EDITORIAL REVIEWS: After establishing her screen career with supporting roles in The Big Chill and The Natural, Glenn Close made her starring debut in the title role of this tepid comedy--an example of the "body-switch" movie trend of the mid-1980s. No doubt Close sensed tour-de-force potential in playing a virtuous San Francisco wife and Catholic bishop's secretary whose body is possessed by the vampy spirit of a 1920s flapper. Instead, the movie drains all the energy from Close's valiant efforts, neglecting virtually any idea that might have made this film genuinely fresh and funny. What's left is an amiable, old-fashioned comedy that gets by on sporadic bursts of charm. Jan (Close) and her librarian husband Nick (Mandy Patinkin) discover Maxie's past in their roomy Victorian home; elderly neighbor Ruth Gordon (in her final film role) informs them that Maxie was on the verge of silent-movie stardom when she died in a car accident in 1927. But Maxie's spirit lives on, and her ectoplasm settles intermittently into Jan's body, sending Nick into a panic when Maxie "drops in" at unpredictable intervals. All Maxie wants is another shot at stardom, and she gets her chance in a remake of Cleopatra--with unbilled Harry Hamlin as Marc Antony! A dubious premise to begin with, it's further victimized by a nagging flatness of tone; if this were a TV sitcom the laugh track would be silent. Fortunately for Close, her psycho-success in Fatal Attraction was less than two years away. --Jeff Shannon

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67591 in DVD
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, Full Screen
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Running time: 98 minutes

Customer Reviews

It's The Bee's Knees! BUT MGM! - Puhleeese! Make It Available
This review refers to the MGM DVD edition of "Maxie"....

Jan and Nick live quiet, low key, uncomplicated lives. He's a librarian, she is secretary to an Archbishop. They are not exactly the wild and crazy type. Their idea of a big night is peeling away the layers of wallpaper, decade by decade, in their new apartment. What they uncover when they are down to the 1920's, is about to change their lives entirely.

Flapper Maxie Malone, left her mark here. A once young and promising actress, who met with an untimely death. The free-spirited, outgoing, energetic, contagiously fun ghost of Maxie, returns, inhabits the body of poor Jan and it's anything goes, as she tries to make her mark on the big screen once more. Maxie may be dead, but she's full of life. She wears the couple out with her antics. Will Jan ever get her life back, or will Maxie go on to stardom?

In the hands of a less adept cast, this may not have the hold it immediately has on the viewer. Glenn Close is "Maxie/Jan", and she is wonderful going back and forth between the dull Jan of today and the exuberant Maxie of the 20's. She does a rendition of "Bye, Bye, Blackbird" that is simply intoxicating. You may even want to rewind and watch it again before going any further(I did). Mandy Patinkin is Nick. He is brilliant as the befuddled husband, who wants his wife back but also falls for the ghost with the most. Bernard Hughes is hilarious as the Archbishop planning an exorcism, and most delicious of all is the legendary Ruth Gordon. Ruth was Maxie's pal in the roaring 20's and hasn't lost a bit of her charm. It may even be by her summoning, that the spirit of Maxie has returned.

Someone was kind enough to post an image of the back of the case and if you click on it you can see the details of this DVD. You do have the choice of widescreen or standard.

For some reason, at this time, this DVD is hard to come by. They are quite high priced by the outside sellers. If interested, put it on your wish list or in your cart, and be patient and watch for a good deal(or check with your local video store) Or maybe....MGM will re-release this for fans so we don't have to pay these out of print prices. You can also find it here:Maxie(where at this time the offers are really ridiculously sky high), but check on it often, who knows -

It's "the cat's pajamas and the bees knees!"
enjoy....Laurie

MAXIE LIVES!!!
I saw this film when it first came out, and although....NOT the number one of ALL the best ghost movies of all time, STILL, it's a good watch. Ruth Gordon, of course, is ALLWAYS a plus, and she makes us cry when confronted by her former vaudeville co-star, Maxie when she is possessed through "Jan". I appreciated the film even more, when I read the source: MARIONS'WALL, by the late, Jack Finney. MAN.....if they made THAT FILM, it would have been even MORE elaborate...STILL, a fun film!!!